Dry-cooling unit with gravity-assisted coolant flow

ABSTRACT

A cooling unit is provided to facilitate cooling of coolant passing through a coolant loop. The cooling unit includes one or more heat rejection units and an elevated coolant tank. The heat rejection unit(s) rejects heat from coolant passing through the coolant loop to air passing across the heat rejection unit. The heat rejection unit(s) includes one or more heat exchange assemblies coupled to the coolant loop for at least a portion of coolant to pass through the one or more heat exchange assemblies. The elevated coolant tank, which is elevated above at least a portion of the coolant loop, is coupled in fluid communication with the one or more heat exchange assemblies of the heat rejection unit(s), and facilitates return of coolant to the coolant loop at a substantially constant pressure.

BACKGROUND

The power dissipation of integrated circuit chips, and the modulescontaining the chips, continues to increase in order to achieveincreases in processor performance. This trend poses a cooling challengeat both the module and system level. Increased airflow rates are neededto effectively cool high power modules and to limit the temperature ofthe air that is exhausted into the computer center.

In many large server applications, processors along with theirassociated electronics (e.g., memory, disk drives, power supplies, etc.)are packaged in removable node configurations stacked within anelectronics rack or frame comprising information technology (IT)equipment. In other cases, the electronics may be in fixed locationswithin the rack or frame. Typically, the components are cooled by airmoving in parallel airflow paths, usually front-to-back, impelled by oneor more air moving devices (e.g., fans or blowers). In some cases it maybe possible to handle increased power dissipation within a single nodeby providing greater airflow, through the use of a more powerful airmoving device or by increasing the rotational speed (i.e., RPMs) of anexisting air moving device. However, this approach is becomingproblematic at the rack level in the context of a computer installation(i.e., data center).

The sensible heat load carried by the air exiting the rack may bestressing the ability of the room air-conditioning to effectively handlethe load. This is especially true for large installations with “serverfarms” or large banks of computer racks close together. In suchinstallations, liquid cooling (e.g., water cooling) is an attractivetechnology to manage the higher heat fluxes. The liquid absorbs the heatdissipated by the components/modules in an efficient manner. Typically,the heat is ultimately transferred from the liquid to an outsideenvironment, whether air or other liquid.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Disclosed herein are various cooling units and methods of fabricationfor facilitating cooling of, for example, a data center. In one aspect,a cooling unit is provided which includes at least one heat rejectionunit and an elevated coolant tank. The at least one heat rejection unitfacilitates rejecting heat from coolant passing through a coolant loopto air passing across the at least one heat rejection unit. The at leastone heat rejection unit includes at least one heat exchange assemblycoupled to the coolant loop for at least a portion of the coolant topass therethrough. The elevated coolant tank is coupled in fluidcommunication with the at least one heat exchange assembly of the atleast one heat rejection unit, and facilitates return of coolant to thecoolant loop at a substantially constant pressure, wherein the elevatedcoolant tank is elevated above at least a portion of the coolant loop.

In another aspect, a data center is provided which includes: a pluralityof electronics racks; a cooling apparatus facilitating extraction ofheat from at least one electronics rack of the plurality of electronicsracks; and a cooling unit. The cooling apparatus comprises at least onecoolant loop, and the cooling unit comprises at least one heat rejectionunit, and an elevated coolant tank. The at least one heat rejection unitrejects heat from coolant passing through one coolant loop of the atleast one coolant loop of the cooling apparatus to air passing acrossthe at least one heat rejection unit. The at least one heat rejectionunit includes at least one heat exchange assembly coupled to the coolantloop for at least a portion of the coolant to pass therethrough. Theelevated coolant tank is coupled in fluid communication with the atleast one heat exchange assembly of the at least one heat rejectionunit. The elevated coolant tank facilitates return of coolant to the onecoolant loop at a substantially constant pressure, wherein the elevatedcoolant tank is elevated above at least a portion of the one coolantloop.

In a further aspect, a method of fabricating a cooling unit for a datacenter is provided. The method includes: providing at least one heatrejection unit configured to reject heat from coolant passing through acoolant loop to air passing across the at least one heat rejection unit,the at least one heat rejection unit comprising at least one heatexchange assembly configured to couple to the coolant loop for at leasta portion of the coolant to pass therethrough; and providing an elevatedcoolant tank coupled in fluid communication with the at least one heatexchange assembly of the at least one heat rejection unit, the elevatedcoolant tank facilitating return of coolant to the coolant loop at asubstantially constant pressure, wherein the elevated coolant tank iselevated above at least a portion of the coolant loop.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniquesof the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the inventionare described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimedinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more aspects of the present invention are particularly pointedout and distinctly claimed as examples in the claims at the conclusionof the specification. The foregoing and other objects, features, andadvantages of the invention are apparent from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1A depicts one embodiment of a conventional raised floor layout ofan air-cooled data center;

FIG. 1B depicts one embodiment of a cooling facility for an air-cooleddata center such as depicted in FIG. 1A, and which is to be modified toinclude a cooling unit, in accordance with one or more aspects of thepresent invention;

FIG. 1C is a schematic of one embodiment of heat transfer through thecooling facility of FIG. 1B from one or more computer roomair-conditioning (CRAC) units associated with a data center (comprisingone or more electronics racks) to a cooling unit disposed outside of thedata center, in accordance with one or more aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 depicts one embodiment of a coolant distribution unit forliquid-cooling of one or more electronics racks of a data center, inaccordance with one or more aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of one embodiment of an electronic subsystemlayout illustrating an air and liquid cooling system for coolingcomponents of the electronic system (or subsystem), in accordance withone or more aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 4 depicts one detailed embodiment of a partially assembledelectronic system layout, wherein the electronic system comprises eightheat-generating electronic components or devices to be cooled, eachhaving a respective liquid-cooled cold plate associated therewith, inaccordance with one or more aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic of another embodiment of a data center comprisinga plurality of electronics racks, a cooling apparatus, and a coolingunit, in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 6A is an enlarged plan view of one embodiment of the cooling unitfor the data center of FIG. 5, in accordance with one or more aspects ofthe present invention;

FIG. 6B is an elevational view of the cooling unit of FIG. 6A, takenalong line 6B-6B thereof, in accordance with one or more aspects of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7A is a plan view of one embodiment of a heat rejection unit of acooling unit, in accordance with one or more aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7B is a plan view of the heat rejection unit of FIG. 7A, shown withthe heat exchangers thereof rotated to be perpendicular to a senseddirection of ambient airflow, in accordance with one or more aspects ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7C depicts one control process implemented, by way of example, by acontroller associated with the cooling unit to automatically adjustorientation of one or more of the heat exchangers of the heat rejectionunit(s) responsive to a change in sensed ambient airflow direction, inaccordance with one or more aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of an alternate embodiment of the coolingunit of FIG. 6B, wherein controllable air-moving devices are associatedwith the heat exchangers, in accordance with one or more aspects of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 9 depicts an alternate embodiment of a data center (comprising aplurality of air-cooled electronics racks, and one or more computer roomair-conditioners), a refrigeration chiller unit, and a cooling unit, inaccordance with one or more aspects of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As used herein, the terms “electronics rack”, “rack-mounted electronicequipment”, and “rack unit” are used interchangeably, and unlessotherwise specified include any housing, frame, rack, compartment, bladeserver system, etc., having one or more heat generating components of acomputer system or electronic system, and may be, for example, astand-alone computer processor having high, mid or low end processingcapability. In one embodiment, an electronics rack may comprise aportion of an electronic system, a single electronic system, or multipleelectronic systems, for example, in one or more sub-housings, blades,books, drawers, nodes, compartments, etc., having one or moreheat-generating electronic components disposed therein. An electronicsystem(s) within an electronics rack may be movable or fixed relative tothe electronics rack, with the rack-mounted electronic drawers of amulti-drawer rack unit and blades of a blade center system being twoexamples of systems (or subsystems) of an electronics rack to be cooled.

“Electronic component” refers to any heat generating electroniccomponent of, for example, a computer system or other electronic systemrequiring cooling. By way of example, an electronic component maycomprise one or more integrated circuit dies and/or other electronicdevices to be cooled, including one or more processor dies, memory diesand memory support dies. As a further example, the electronic componentmay comprise one or more bare dies or one or more packaged dies disposedon a common carrier.

Unless otherwise specified herein, the terms “liquid-cooled structure”and “liquid-cooled cold plate” refer to thermally conductive structureshaving one or more channels (or passageways) or chambers formed thereinor passing therethrough, which facilitate flow of coolant therethrough.In one example, tubing may be provided extending into or through theliquid-cooled structure (or liquid-cooled cold plate).

As used herein, “liquid-to-air heat exchanger” means any heat exchangemechanism characterized as described herein through which liquid coolantcan circulate; and includes, one or more discrete liquid-to-air heatexchangers coupled either in series or in parallel. A liquid-to-air heatexchanger may comprise, for example, one or more coolant flow paths,formed of thermally conductive tubings (such as copper or other tubing)in thermal or mechanical contact with a plurality of air-cooled coolingfins. Size, configuration and construction of the liquid-to-air heatexchanger can vary without departing from the scope of the inventiondisclosed herein. Further, as used herein “data center” refers to acomputer installation containing, for example, one or more electronicsracks to be cooled. As a specific example, a data center may include oneor more electronic racks, such as server racks.

One example of the coolant employed herein is water. However, theconcepts disclosed herein are readily adapted to use with other types ofcoolant. For example, one or more of the coolants may comprise a brine,a dielectric liquid, a fluorocarbon liquid, a liquid metal, or othersimilar coolant, or refrigerant, while still maintaining the advantagesand unique features of the present invention.

Reference is made below to the drawings, which are not drawn to scale tofacilitate understanding thereof, wherein the same reference numbersused throughout different figures designate the same or similarcomponents.

FIG. 1A depicts a raised floor layout of an air cooled data center 100typical in the prior art, wherein multiple electronics racks 110 aredisposed in one or more rows. A data center such as depicted in FIG. 1Amay house several hundred, or even several thousand microprocessors. Inthe arrangement illustrated, chilled air enters the computer room viaperforated floor tiles 160 from a supply air plenum 145 defined betweenthe raised floor 140 and a base or sub-floor 165 of the room. Cooled airis taken in through louvered covers at air inlet sides 120 of theelectronics racks and expelled through the back (i.e., air outlet sides130) of the electronics racks. Each electronics rack 110 may have one ormore air moving devices (e.g., fans or blowers) to provide forcedinlet-to-outlet airflow to cool the electronic devices within thesubsystem(s) of the rack. The supply air plenum 145 provides conditionedand cooled air to the air-inlet sides of the electronics racks viaperforated floor tiles 160 disposed in a “cold” aisle of the computerinstallation. The conditioned and cooled air is supplied to plenum 145by one or more computer room air-conditioning (CRAC) units 150, alsodisposed within the data center 100. Room air is taken into each airconditioning unit 150 near an upper portion thereof. This room air maycomprise in part exhausted air from the “hot” aisles of the computerinstallation defined, for example, by opposing air outlet sides 130 ofthe electronics racks 110.

FIG. 1B depicts one embodiment of facility-level cooling to facilitateheat transfer from the electronics racks of the data center 100 toambient outdoor air 177 being drawn via one or more air-moving devices176 through a cooling tower 175, such as a wet cooling tower. Asdescribed above in connection with FIG. 1A, data center 100 includes oneor more electronics (or IT) racks arranged in one or more rows to formaisles. Chilled air enters the floor via, for example, one or moreperforated floor tiles, passes through the racks, becomes heated in theprocess, and then is drawn to the intake of a computer roomair-conditioning unit disposed within data center 100. The computer roomair-conditioning unit cools the hot air and provides the chilled air tothe underfloor plenum. In one embodiment, the computer roomair-conditioning units are chilled via facility coolant coupled to afacility coolant loop 171 connecting in fluid communication arefrigeration chiller unit 170 and the computer room air-conditioningunits of data center 100. The chilled facility coolant, such as chilledwater, allows the computer room air-conditioning units to supply chilledair to the underfloor plenum of the data center, typically in the 15°C.-32° C. range, with 24° C.-27° C. being the long-term recommendedtemperature band.

FIG. 1C is a high-level illustration of one embodiment of heat transferthrough a data center cooling system such as described herein. In thisembodiment, heat is transferred from one or more electronics rackswithin a data center 100 to a facilities area 101, and ultimately to anarea 102 outside of the facilities area and the data center.Specifically, one or more cooling units, such as computer roomair-conditioning units 150, each facilitate transfer of heat from theelectronics racks to a facility coolant loop 171 coupled (in thisembodiment) to transfer heat between CRAC 150 and refrigeration chillerunit 170. A coolant pump 173 pumps facility coolant through facilitycoolant loop 171 to facilitate transfer of heat from the air-to-liquidheat exchanger within CRAC 150 to an evaporator 180 within refrigerationchiller unit 170. Evaporator 180 extracts heat from facility coolantflowing through facility coolant loop 171 and transfers the heat to arefrigerant flowing through a refrigerant loop 181. Refrigerant loop 181couples in fluid communication evaporator 180, a compressor 182, acondenser 183 and an expansion valve 184. Refrigeration chiller 170implements, in one embodiment, a conventional vapor-compressionrefrigeration cycle. Condenser 183 dissipates heat to, for example, acondenser water loop 172 disposed between refrigeration chiller 170 anda cooling tower 103 positioned, for example, outside 102 facility area101 and data center 100. A portion of the water is evaporated withincooling tower 103 and the remainder is re-circulated via a water pump174 through condenser 183 of refrigeration chiller unit 170.

Thus, the overall cooling system transfers heat from the IT equipment,i.e., the electronics rack(s), to the outdoor ambient air. Moving in thedirection of heat flow, heat generated within the electronics rack(s) istransferred to the facility coolant loop via (in one embodiment) thecomputer room air-conditioning unit(s). The facility coolant loopcarries the heat to a refrigeration chiller unit, with the heat beingtaken into the refrigeration chiller at its evaporator and rejected to acondenser water loop at its condenser. The condenser water passesoutside of the facilities area to, for example, one or more coolingtowers that transfer the heat to the outside ambient air. Typically, thecooling towers 103 are wet cooling towers. Inside a wet cooling tower103, water is flowed over fin structures, across which outdoor air isalso forced. A small part of this water evaporates, thus transferringheat into the ambient air, which is exhausted from the cooling tower.

The refrigerant chiller (or plant) 170, and the computer roomair-conditioning units 150 typically consume about 75% of the coolingenergy of a traditional data center cooling system such as depicted inFIGS. 1A & 1B. Advantageously, disclosed herein is a cooling system fora data center, which may comprise (in one embodiment) a fullycoolant-cooled data center in combination with a “dry” cooling unit,which does not employ a wet cooling tower, such as depicted anddescribed above in connection with FIG. 1B. In the cooling approachdisclosed hereinbelow with reference to FIGS. 5-9, there is noevaporative cooling tower, and thus, there is no need to replace waterlost due to evaporative cooling within the tower. In one embodiment, thecooling approach disclosed herein employs air-cooling of a coolant (suchas water) within a dry cooling unit or tower for facilitating cooling ofliquid-cooled electronics (or IT) racks inside a data center.

Due to the ever-increasing airflow requirements through electronicsracks, and the limits of air distribution within the typical data centerinstallation, liquid-based cooling is being combined with or used inplace of air-cooling. FIGS. 2-4 illustrate one embodiment of a datacenter implementation employing a liquid-based cooling system with oneor more cold plates coupled to high heat-generating electronic devicesdisposed within the electronics racks.

FIG. 2 depicts, in part, one embodiment of a coolant distribution unit200 for a data center. The coolant distribution unit is conventionally alarge unit which occupies what would be considered a full electronicsframe. Within coolant distribution unit 200 is a power/control element212, a reservoir/expansion tank 213, a heat exchanger 214, a pump 215(often accompanied by a redundant second pump), facility water inlet 216and outlet 217 supply pipes, a supply manifold 218 supplying water orsystem coolant to the electronics racks 110 via couplings 220 and lines222, and a return manifold 219 receiving water from the electronicsracks 110, via lines 223 and couplings 221. Each electronics rackincludes (in one example) a power/control unit 230 for the electronicsrack, multiple electronic subsystems 240, a system coolant supplymanifold 250, and a system coolant return manifold 260. As shown, eachelectronics rack 110 is disposed on raised floor 140 of the data centerwith lines 222 providing system coolant to system coolant supplymanifolds 250 and lines 223 facilitating return of system coolant fromsystem coolant return manifolds 260 being disposed in the supply airplenum beneath the raised floor.

In the embodiment illustrated, the system coolant supply manifold 250provides system coolant to the cooling systems of the electronicsubsystems (more particularly, to liquid-cooled cold plates thereof) viaflexible hose connections 251, which are disposed between the supplymanifold and the respective electronic subsystems within the rack.Similarly, system coolant return manifold 260 is coupled to theelectronic subsystems via flexible hose connections 261. Quick connectcouplings may be employed at the interface between flexible hoses 251,261 and the individual electronic subsystems. By way of example, thesequick connect couplings may comprise various types of commerciallyavailable couplings, such as those available from Colder ProductsCompany, of St. Paul, Minn., USA, or Parker Hannifin, of Cleveland,Ohio, USA.

Although not shown, electronics rack 110 may also include anair-to-liquid heat exchanger disposed at an air outlet side thereof,which also receives system coolant from the system coolant supplymanifold 250 and returns system coolant to the system coolant returnmanifold 260.

FIG. 3 depicts one embodiment of an electronic subsystem 313 componentlayout wherein one or more air moving devices 311 provide forced airflow 315 to cool multiple components 312 within electronic subsystem313. Cool air is taken in through a front 331 and exhausted out a back333 of the subsystem. The multiple components to be cooled includemultiple processor modules to which liquid-cooled cold plates 320 (of aliquid-based cooling system) are coupled, as well as multiple arrays ofmemory modules 330 (e.g., dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs)) andmultiple rows of memory support modules 332 (e.g., DIMM control modules)to which air-cooled heat sinks are coupled. In the embodimentillustrated, memory modules 330 and the memory support modules 332 arepartially arrayed near front 331 of electronic subsystem 313, andpartially arrayed near back 333 of electronic subsystem 313. Also, inthe embodiment of FIG. 3, memory modules 330 and the memory supportmodules 332 are cooled by air flow 315 across the electronic subsystem.

The illustrated liquid-based cooling system further includes multiplecoolant-carrying tubes connected to and in fluid communication withliquid-cooled cold plates 320. The coolant-carrying tubes comprise setsof coolant-carrying tubes, with each set including (for example) acoolant supply tube 340, a bridge tube 341 and a coolant return tube342. In this example, each set of tubes provides liquid coolant to aseries-connected pair of cold plates 320 (coupled to a pair of processormodules). Coolant flows into a first cold plate of each pair via thecoolant supply tube 340 and from the first cold plate to a second coldplate of the pair via bridge tube or line 341, which may or may not bethermally conductive. From the second cold plate of the pair, coolant isreturned through the respective coolant return tube 342.

FIG. 4 depicts in greater detail an alternate electronic subsystemlayout comprising eight processor modules, each having a respectiveliquid-cooled cold plate of a liquid-based cooling system coupledthereto. The liquid-based cooling system is shown to further includeassociated coolant-carrying tubes for facilitating passage of liquidcoolant through the liquid-cooled cold plates and a header subassemblyto facilitate distribution of liquid coolant to and return of liquidcoolant from the liquid-cooled cold plates. By way of specific example,the liquid coolant passing through the liquid-based cooling subsystem iscooled and conditioned water.

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of one embodiment of an electronic subsystemor drawer, and monolithic cooling system. The depicted planar serverassembly includes a multi-layer printed circuit board to which memoryDIMM sockets and various electronic devices to be cooled are attachedboth physically and electrically. In the cooling system depicted, asupply header is provided to distribute liquid coolant from a singleinlet to multiple parallel coolant flow paths and a return headercollects exhausted coolant from the multiple parallel coolant flow pathsinto a single outlet. Each parallel coolant flow path includes one ormore cold plates in series flow arrangement to facilitate cooling one ormore electronic devices to which the cold plates are mechanically andthermally coupled. The number of parallel paths and the number ofseries-connected liquid-cooled cold plates depends, for example, on thedesired device temperature, available coolant temperature and coolantflow rate, and the total heat load being dissipated from each electronicdevice.

More particularly, FIG. 4 depicts a partially assembled electronicsubsystem 413 and an assembled liquid-based cooling system 415 coupledto primary heat-generating components (e.g., including processor dies)to be cooled. In this embodiment, the electronics system is configuredfor (or as) an electronics drawer of an electronics rack, and includes,by way of example, a support substrate or planar board 405, a pluralityof memory module sockets 410 (with the memory modules (e.g., dualin-line memory modules) not shown), multiple rows of memory supportmodules 432 (each having coupled thereto an air-cooled heat sink 434),and multiple processor modules (not shown) disposed below theliquid-cooled cold plates 420 of the liquid-based cooling system 415.

In addition to liquid-cooled cold plates 420, liquid-based coolingsystem 415 includes multiple coolant-carrying tubes, including coolantsupply tubes 440 and coolant return tubes 442 in fluid communicationwith respective liquid-cooled cold plates 420. The coolant-carryingtubes 440, 442 are also connected to a header (or manifold) subassembly450 which facilitates distribution of liquid coolant to the coolantsupply tubes 440 and return of liquid coolant from the coolant returntubes 442. In this embodiment, the air-cooled heat sinks 434 coupled tomemory support modules 432 closer to front 431 of electronic subsystem413 are shorter in height than the air-cooled heat sinks 434′ coupled tomemory support modules 432 near back 433 of electronic subsystem 413.This size difference is to accommodate the coolant-carrying tubes 440,442 since, in this embodiment, the header subassembly 450 is at thefront 431 of the electronics drawer and the multiple liquid-cooled coldplates 420 are in the middle of the drawer.

Liquid-based cooling system 415 comprises a pre-configured monolithicstructure which includes multiple (pre-assembled) liquid-cooled coldplates 420 configured and disposed in spaced relation to engagerespective heat-generating electronic devices. Each liquid-cooled coldplate 420 includes, in this embodiment, a liquid coolant inlet and aliquid coolant outlet, as well as an attachment subassembly (i.e., acold plate/load arm assembly). Each attachment subassembly is employedto couple its respective liquid-cooled cold plate 420 to the associatedelectronic device to form the cold plate and electronic deviceassemblies. Alignment openings (i.e., thru-holes) are provided on thesides of the cold plate to receive alignment pins or positioning dowelsduring the assembly process. Additionally, connectors (or guide pins)are included within attachment subassembly which facilitate use of theattachment assembly.

As shown in FIG. 4, header subassembly 450 includes two liquidmanifolds, i.e., a coolant supply header 452 and a coolant return header454, which in one embodiment, are coupled together via supportingbrackets. In the monolithic cooling structure of FIG. 4, the coolantsupply header 452 is metallurgically bonded in fluid communication toeach coolant supply tube 440, while the coolant return header 454 ismetallurgically bonded in fluid communication to each coolant returntube 442. A single coolant inlet 451 and a single coolant outlet 453extend from the header subassembly for coupling to the electronicsrack's coolant supply and return manifolds (not shown).

FIG. 4 also depicts one embodiment of the pre-configured,coolant-carrying tubes. In addition to coolant supply tubes 440 andcoolant return tubes 442, bridge tubes or lines 441 are provided forcoupling, for example, a liquid coolant outlet of one liquid-cooled coldplate to the liquid coolant inlet of another liquid-cooled cold plate toconnect in series fluid flow the cold plates, with the pair of coldplates receiving and returning liquid coolant via a respective set ofcoolant supply and return tubes. In one embodiment, the coolant supplytubes 440, bridge tubes 441 and coolant return tubes 442 are eachpre-configured, semi-rigid tubes formed of a thermally conductivematerial, such as copper or aluminum, and the tubes are respectivelybrazed, soldered or welded in a fluid-tight manner to the headersubassembly and/or the liquid-cooled cold plates. The tubes arepre-configured for a particular electronics system to facilitateinstallation of the monolithic structure in engaging relation with theelectronics system.

As noted, FIGS. 5-9 depict various embodiments of a cooling facility fora data center, such as described above in connection with FIGS. 1A-1C orFIGS. 2-4, which employ, for example, a natural-convection, dry-coolingunit with gravity-assisted coolant flow, in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present invention.

Referring first to FIG. 5, a data center 201 is shown to comprise aplurality of electronics racks 110 arranged in rows and liquid-cooled bya system coolant provided by one or more coolant distribution units 200,such as described above in connection with FIGS. 2-4. A facility coolantloop 501 couples in fluid communication a cooling unit 500 to coolantdistribution units 200, and a coolant pump 502 facilitates flow ofcooled facility coolant to coolant distribution units 200 of data center201. Note that in this embodiment, there is no refrigerant chillerplant, as in the embodiment of FIGS. 1A-1C, and most, if not all, of theelectronics racks (i.e., IT equipment) on the data center floor areliquid-cooled (e.g., water-cooled). Additionally, there is no wetcooling tower in this embodiment, with cooling unit 500 being a drycooling unit (or tower). Note that the use of the word “dry” in thiscontext refers to the lack of water evaporation for rejection of heatload to the ambient air, and the physical isolation between the coolantflow loop (e.g., facility loop 501) and the ambient airflow (open) loopacross the heat rejection units. The facility loop 501 facilitatestransfer of the heat load from the coolant distribution units within thedata center to the cooling unit 500, and returns back ambient-air-cooledfacility coolant (e.g., water) to the coolant distribution unit(s) 200for cooling of the electronics racks 110.

Referring collectively to FIGS. 5, 6A & 6B, cooling unit 500 is shown tocomprise, in one embodiment, a plurality of heat rejection units 510 a,510 b, radially arrayed about an elevated cooling tank (or tower) 520.In the illustrated embodiment, the heat rejection units and the coolingtower are discrete, separate structures, and heat rejection units 510 aare disposed upstream of elevated coolant tank 520, and heat rejectionunits 510 b are disposed downstream of elevated coolant tank 520. Eachheat rejection unit 510 a, 510 b includes one or more heat exchangeassemblies 600, which in the embodiment illustrated each comprise an n×marray of heat exchangers 601, each rotatably mounted on a rotating axis602 supported by a structural frame support 620. Note that the 3×3 arrayof heat exchangers of each heat exchange assembly 600 is presented byway of example only. Alternate configurations could comprise a singleheat exchanger, or any n×m array of heat exchangers, wherein n and mcomprise the same or a different number of heat exchangers. Further,different heat rejection units 510 a, 510 b may comprise differentconfigurations of heat exchange assemblies 600, as desired for aparticular application. In one embodiment, each heat exchanger 601 is aliquid-to-air heat exchanger, wherein warm facility coolant passesthrough the heat exchange assemblies of the heat rejection units 510 a,510 b for ambient-air-cooling thereof.

In the embodiment illustrated, three columns 610 of heat exchangers 601are illustrated. Within each column, heat exchangers 601 are coupled inparallel-fluid communication, and the columns 610 of heat exchangers 601of a heat exchange assembly 600 are coupled in series, again, by way ofexample only. The output of each heat exchange unit 510 a is coupled influid communication with a coolant tank inlet 632 of elevated coolanttank 520. Natural air convention patterns 640 are established throughthe heat rejection units 510 a, 510 b to facilitate transfer of heatfrom the facility coolant flowing through facility coolant loop 501 tothe ambient airflow 640 passing across the heat exchangers 601 of theindividual heat exchange assemblies 600 within the heat rejection units510 a, 510 b.

One or more pumps (not shown) are provided upstream of elevated coolanttank 520 to facilitate pumping of the ambient-air-cooled facilitycoolant 631 into elevated coolant tank 520 supported by column 630.Elevated coolant tank is located at some vertical height above ground,and in the embodiment illustrated, is elevated above the heat exchangeassemblies 600 of heat exchange units 510 a, 510 b, as shown in FIG. 6B.Note also that in this embodiment, heat exchange assemblies 600 arevertically-oriented heat exchange assemblies (or tower-type heatexchange assemblies). For example, each vertically-oriented heatexchange assembly 600 of the heat rejection units 510 a, 510 b may havea vertical height which, in one embodiment, is greater than the width ordepth of the heat exchange assembly. Note further that the energyconsumed in pumping the facility coolant (e.g., water) into the elevatedcoolant tank 520 is partially recovered when the facility coolant isdrawn in the direction of gravity through the coolant tank outlet 633 ofelevated coolant tanks 520 for passage through the downstream heatrejection units 510 b coupled in fluid communication with elevatedcoolant tank 520. As illustrated, elevated coolant tank 520 alsoincludes a venting valve 634 for venting any excess vapor build-up fromthe cooling unit.

Note again that, depending upon the implementation, the cooling unitdisposed herein could comprise a single heat rejection unit disposedeither upstream or downstream of the elevated coolant tank, or a singleupstream heat rejection unit and a single downstream heat rejection unitcoupled in fluid communication with the elevated coolant tank. Theradially-arrayed disposition of the upstream heat rejection unit(s) anddownstream heat rejection unit(s) (as illustrated, for example, in FIGS.5 & 6A) facilitates ambient-air-cooling of the facility coolant passingthrough the cooling unit for return back to (for example) the coolantdistribution unit(s) of the data center. Note that the gravity-assistedflow of coolant from elevated coolant tank 520 provides coolant into thefacility loop at a substantially constant pressure. Also, since thecooling unit disclosed in FIGS. 5-6B is a closed system, little or noevaporation of facility coolant will occur in normal operation.

In operation, the heated facility coolant within facility coolant loop501 is pumped to cooling unit 500 and first passes through the upstreamheat rejection units 510 a, and in particular, the heat exchangeassemblies 600 housed within the upstream heat rejection units 510 a(with the 3×3 matrix of heat exchangers illustrated in FIGS. 5-6B beingpresented by way of example only). As the facility coolant flows throughthe upstream heat rejection units 510 a, it passes through therespective matrices of heat exchangers, and is cooled bynatural-convection airflow across the heat exchangers. As noted, in oneembodiment, the heat exchangers comprise liquid-to-air heat exchangerswith a fin and tube configuration, such as a plurality of horizontal,coolant-carrying tubes with vertically-oriented fins extendingtherefrom. The tubes transport the facility coolant from an inletmanifold to an outlet manifold of the respective heat exchanger, and thevertically-oriented fins are thermally coupled to the horizontal tubes.Natural air-convection occurs when a heated surface is in contact withambient air. The air close to the surface becomes heated and its densityincreases, making it more buoyant than the neighboring cooler air. Thisheated air rises, and the cooler air replaces it, and thus, anatural-convection airflow pattern 640 is established. After beingcooled by air-convection cooling, the coolant is pumped into theelevated coolant tank 520. The coolant is subsequently drained from theelevated coolant tank 520 and drawn through (in one embodiment) one ormore downstream heat rejection units 510 b for passage through similarnatural air-convection-cooled, liquid-to-air heat exchangers within heatrejection units 510 b. Note that in this configuration, the energyconsumed in pumping the coolant to the elevated height of the storagetank, is partially recovered when the coolant is drawn in the directionof gravity out to pass through the downstream heat rejection units. Alsoadvantageously, natural air-convection cooling means than no fan energyis necessarily consumed in the cooling unit, and the “dry” design meansthat there is no need to provide additional facility coolant to replacecoolant lost to evaporation (as is necessary in a wet cooling towerdesign, such as illustrated in FIG. 1B).

As noted, in one embodiment, one or more heat exchangers 601 of one ormore heat exchange assemblies 600 of the heat rejection units 510 a, 510b, may be mounted on a rotatable support 602 coupled to structural framesupport 620 of the respective heat rejection unit 510 a, 510 b.Rotatable mounting of the liquid-to-air heat exchangers allows (asillustrated in FIGS. 7A-7C), for the ability to adjust the orientationof the one or more liquid-to-air heat exchangers relative to a changingairflow direction impinging on the heat exchanger(s).

In particular, one or more airflow direction sensors (such as velocitysensors) 700 may be employed at one or both sides of each heat rejectionunit 510 a, 510 b in order to sense direction of local ambient airimpinging on the heat rejection unit, or more particularly, the heatexchanger(s) disposed therein. In the embodiment illustrated, acontroller 705 is associated with each heat rejection unit 510 a, 510 bfor monitoring airflow 701 direction via the airflow direction sensor(s)700, and to automatically adjust the heat exchange assembly by pivotallyrotating one or more of the heat exchangers 601, for example, to faceperpendicular to the real time airflow direction impinging on the heatrejection unit, which in turn enhances airflow-cooling of the coolantpassing through the liquid-to-air heat exchangers. Those skilled in theart will note that various modifications to this concept may beemployed. The automatically controlled, rotatable feature of theliquid-to-air heat exchangers advantageously facilitates dynamicalignment of the face of the heat exchanger(s) perpendicular to thecurrent airflow direction such that fins 702 are oriented parallel tothe airflow direction in the case where there is wind in the outdoorenvironment. For example, after controller 705 senses airflow direction,one or more of the individual liquid-to-air heat exchange units may berotated (or swiveled) employing an associated stepper motor-basedactuation unit to rotate the selected heat exchanger(s) so that theairflow direction is perpendicular to its planar dimension (or face).

FIG. 7C illustrates one embodiment of this control process, whereinvelocity direction is determined (or measured), for example, on one ormore sides of the liquid-to-air heat exchangers 710. The controller thenautomatically, dynamically rotates one or more of the liquid-to-air heatexchangers of one or more heat rejection units to be perpendicular tothe sensed airflow direction 720, before waiting a time interval “t” 730to repeat the process by determining the then-current airflow direction.

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of an alternate embodiment of a coolingunit 500′ similar to that described above in connection with FIGS. 5-7C.In this alternate embodiment, air-moving devices 800 are associated withthe individual heat exchangers 601 of the heat exchange assemblies 600within the heat rejection units 510 a, 510 b. The air-moving devices 800may be automatically adjustable, for example, via controller 705 (FIGS.7A & 7B) associated with the respective heat rejection unit, or acentrally-disposed controller which may control activation of aplurality of air-moving devices within the cooling unit. Further, theair-moving devices could be actuated either individually or globallywithin a given heat rejection unit, or within all of the heat rejectionunits. Thus, heat transfer from a single liquid-to-air heat exchanger601 or from a plurality of liquid-to-air heat exchangers within a heatrejection unit is enhanced by providing additional airflow across therespective heat exchanger(s). The air-moving devices can be actuated,for example, on a hot day to boost dry cooling performance of thecooling unit, and reduce the temperature differential between theoutdoor ambient air and the coolant leaving the cooling unit. On a coldday, the air-moving devices may be turned OFF to conserve energy. In oneembodiment, the air-moving devices 800 are each physically attached to arespective liquid-to-air heat exchanger 601, and can rotate with theautomatic, dynamic adjustment of the respective liquid-to-air heatexchanger relative to airflow direction of the ambient air, as describedabove in connection with FIGS. 7A-7C. By attaching the air-movingdevices 800 to the heat exchangers 601, the air-moving devices rotatewith the heat exchangers, and thus, any wind-driven airflow can beselectively augmented by a fan-driven airflow.

FIG. 9 depicts an alternate embodiment of a cooling apparatus for a datacenter. As illustrated, this alternate cooling apparatus employs acooling unit, such as described above in connection with FIGS. 5-8, andthe data center comprises an air-cooled data center, such as describedabove with respect to FIGS. 1A-1C. Liquid coolant, such as water,facilitates cooling of the computer room air-conditioning units 150 ofthe data center 100, with a facility coolant loop 171 coupling in fluidcommunication the computer room air-conditioning units 150 and theevaporator of a refrigeration chiller unit 170. A pump 173 facilitatesflow of facility coolant through facility coolant loop 171.Refrigeration chiller unit 170, which may be implemented as describedabove in connection with FIG. 1C, chills the facility coolant andrejects heat from the facility coolant to a condenser-side coolant loop172, which couples in fluid communication a coolant unit 500 to therefrigeration chiller unit 170. One or more coolant pumps 174 areassociated with condenser-side coolant loop 172 for facilitating flow ofcoolant between the refrigeration chiller unit 170 and cooling unit 500.In one embodiment, cooling unit 500 may comprise a dry-cooling unit suchas described above, wherein a plurality of heat rejection units 510 a,510 b are radially arrayed upstream and downstream of an elevatedcoolant tank 520, such as described above. Note that in this embodiment,the natural air-convection-based, dry cooling unit 500 withgravity-assisted flow provides the cooling to the condenser-side of therefrigeration chiller unit in lieu of a wet cooling tower approach, suchas illustrated in FIG. 1B.

Advantageously, the cooling unit and variations thereof disclosed hereinprovide a more efficient cooling of a data center than conventionalapproaches. Further, the traditional wet cooling tower design uses asignificant quantity of water during the cooling process, which must bereplaced. The “dry” cooling unit approach disclosed herein does notrequire any make-up coolant due to evaporative cooling loss since thecooling unit is a closed system. In accordance with the embodimentsdisclosed herein, the data center is cooled employing anambient-air-cooled coolant, provided either directly to (for example)one or more coolant distribution units within the data center, or to arefrigeration chiller unit providing chilled facility coolant to (forexample) one or more computer room air-conditioning units disposedwithin the data center.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise” (andany form of comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (andany form of have, such as “has” and “having”), “include” (and any formof include, such as “includes” and “including”), and “contain” (and anyform contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-endedlinking verbs. As a result, a method or device that “comprises”, “has”,“includes” or “contains” one or more steps or elements possesses thoseone or more steps or elements, but is not limited to possessing onlythose one or more steps or elements. Likewise, a step of a method or anelement of a device that “comprises”, “has”, “includes” or “contains”one or more features possesses those one or more features, but is notlimited to possessing only those one or more features. Furthermore, adevice or structure that is configured in a certain way is configured inat least that way, but may also be configured in ways that are notlisted.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below, if any, areintended to include any structure, material, or act for performing thefunction in combination with other claimed elements as specificallyclaimed. The description of the present invention has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to beexhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

1. A cooling unit comprising: at least one heat rejection unitconfigured to reject heat from coolant passing through a coolant loop toair passing across the at least one heat rejection unit, the at leastone heat rejection unit comprising at least one heat exchange assemblycoupled to the coolant loop for at least a portion of the coolant topass therethrough; and an elevated coolant tank coupled in fluidcommunication with the at least one heat exchange assembly of the atleast one heat rejection unit, the elevated coolant tank facilitatingreturn of coolant to the coolant loop at a substantially constantpressure, wherein the elevated coolant tank is elevated above at least aportion of the coolant loop.
 2. The cooling unit of claim 1, wherein theat least one heat exchange assembly comprises at least onevertically-oriented heat exchange assembly.
 3. The cooling unit of claim2, wherein the elevated cooling tank is elevated above the at least onevertically-oriented heat exchange assembly.
 4. The cooling unit of claim2, wherein the at least one heat rejection unit is free-standing fromthe elevated coolant tank.
 5. The cooling unit of claim 2, wherein oneheat exchange assembly of the at least one heat exchange assembly of theat least one heat rejection unit comprises an array of multiple heatexchangers coupled for at least a portion of the coolant of the coolantloop to pass therethrough.
 6. The cooling unit of claim 5, wherein thearray of multiple heat exchangers of the one heat exchange assemblycomprises multiple columns of heat exchangers, the multiple columnsbeing coupled in series fluid communication, each column of heatexchangers of the multiple columns of heat exchangers comprising atleast two heat exchangers coupled in parallel, fluid communication. 7.The cooling unit of claim 2, wherein one heat exchange assembly of theat least one heat exchange assembly of the at least one heat rejectionunit is rotatably mounted to a support structure, and wherein thecooling unit further comprises a controller coupled to automaticallyrotate at least a portion of the one heat exchange assembly responsiveto a change in direction of ambient airflow at the one heat exchangeassembly to facilitate rejection of heat to air passing across the oneheat exchange assembly.
 8. The cooling unit of claim 1, furthercomprising multiple heat rejection units configured to reject heat fromthe coolant passing through the coolant loop to air passing across themultiple heat rejection units, each heat rejection unit of the multipleheat rejection units comprising a heat exchange assembly, each heatexchange assembly comprising at least one heat exchanger coupled for atleast a portion of the coolant of the coolant loop to pass therethrough.9. The cooling unit of claim 8, wherein one heat rejection unit of themultiple heat rejection units is coupled in fluid communication with theelevated coolant tank upstream of the elevated coolant tank, and anotherheat rejection unit of the multiple heat rejection units is coupled influid communication with the elevated coolant tank downstream of theelevated coolant tank.
 10. The cooling unit of claim 8, wherein at leasttwo heat rejection units of the multiple heat rejection units arecoupled in parallel-fluid communication, and in fluid communication withthe elevated coolant tank upstream of the elevated coolant tank, and atleast two other heat rejection units of the multiple heat rejectionunits are coupled in parallel-fluid communication, and in fluidcommunication with the elevated coolant tank downstream of the elevatedcoolant tank.
 11. The cooling unit of claim 10, wherein the multipleheat rejection units are disposed radially about the elevated coolanttank, and are free-standing from the elevated coolant tank, each heatexchange assembly of the multiple heat rejection units comprising avertically-oriented heat exchange assembly, and wherein the elevatedcoolant tank is elevated above the multiple heat exchange assemblies ofthe multiple heat rejection units.
 12. The cooling unit of claim 1,wherein one heat rejection unit of the at least one heat rejection unitfurther comprises at least one air-moving device associated with theheat exchange assembly thereof and configured to provide airflow acrossthe heat exchange assembly, the at least one air-moving device beingautomatically controlled by a controller of the cooling unit.
 13. Thecooling unit of claim 1, wherein the cooling unit is coupled in fluidcommunication with a facility coolant loop coupled to at least onecoolant distribution unit of a data center, the data center comprising aplurality of liquid-cooled electronics racks and a system coolant loopwhich facilitates rejecting heat from the plurality of liquid-cooledelectronics racks to facility coolant in the facility coolant loop viathe at least one coolant distribution unit, and wherein the cooling unitis disposed external to the data center and rejects heat from thefacility coolant passing through the facility coolant loop.
 14. Thecooling unit of claim 1, wherein the cooling unit is coupled in fluidcommunication with a condenser-side coolant loop of a refrigerationchiller unit for rejecting heat from a condenser-side coolant of therefrigeration chiller unit to the air passing across the at least oneheat rejection unit.
 15. A data center comprising: a plurality ofelectronics racks; a cooling apparatus facilitating extraction of heatfrom at least one electronics rack of the plurality of electronicsracks, the cooling apparatus comprising at least one coolant loop; and acooling unit comprising: at least one heat rejection unit configured toreject heat from coolant passing through one coolant loop of the atleast one coolant loop of the cooling apparatus to air passing acrossthe at least one heat rejection unit, the at least one heat rejectionunit comprising at least one heat exchange assembly coupled to thecoolant loop for at least a portion of the coolant to pass therethrough;and an elevated coolant tank coupled in fluid communication with the atleast one heat exchange assembly of the at least one heat rejectionunit, the elevated coolant tank facilitating return of coolant to thecoolant loop at a substantially constant pressure, wherein the elevatedcoolant tank is elevated above at least a portion of the one coolantloop.
 16. The data center of 15, wherein the at least one heat exchangeassembly comprises at least one vertically-oriented heat exchangeassembly, and the elevated coolant tank is elevated above the at leastone vertically-oriented heat exchange assembly, and wherein the at leastone heat rejection unit is free-standing from the elevated coolant tank.17. The data center of claim 16, wherein one heat exchange assembly ofthe at least one heat exchange assembly of the at least one heatrejection unit comprises an array of multiple heat exchangers coupledfor at least a portion of the coolant of the one coolant loop to passtherethrough, and wherein the array of multiple heat exchangers of theone heat exchange assembly comprises multiple columns of heatexchangers, the multiple columns being coupled in series fluidcommunication, each column of heat exchangers of the multiple columns ofheat exchangers comprising at least two heat exchangers coupled inparallel-fluid communication.
 18. The data center of claim 16, whereinone heat exchange assembly of the at least one heat exchange assembly ofthe at least one heat rejection unit is rotatably mounted to a supportstructure, and wherein the cooling unit further comprises a controllercoupled to automatically rotate at least a portion of the one heatexchange assembly responsive to a change in direction of ambient airflowat the one heat exchange assembly to facilitate rejection of heat to airpassing across the one heat exchange assembly.
 19. The data center ofclaim 15, further comprising multiple heat rejection units configured toreject heat from the coolant passing through the coolant loop to airpassing across the multiple heat rejection units, each heat rejectionunit of the multiple heat rejection units comprising a heat exchangeassembly, each heat exchange assembly comprising at least one heatexchanger coupled for at least a portion of the coolant of the onecoolant loop to pass therethrough, and wherein one heat rejection unitof the multiple heat rejection units is coupled in fluid communicationwith the elevated coolant tank upstream of the elevated coolant tank,and another heat rejection unit of the multiple heat rejection units iscoupled in fluid communication with the elevated coolant tank downstreamof the elevated coolant tank.
 20. The data center of claim 15, furthercomprising multiple heat rejection units configured to reject heat fromthe coolant passing through the one coolant loop to the air passingacross the multiple heat rejection units, each heat rejection unit ofthe multiple heat rejection units comprising a heat exchange assembly,each heat exchange assembly comprising at least one heat exchangercoupled for at least a portion of the one coolant of the coolant loop topass therethrough, and wherein at least two heat rejection units of themultiple heat rejection units are coupled in parallel-fluidcommunication, and in fluid communication with the elevated coolant tankupstream of the elevated coolant tank, and at least two other heatrejection units of the multiple heat rejection units are coupled inparallel-fluid communication, and in fluid communication with theelevated coolant tank downstream of the elevated coolant tank.
 21. Thedata center of claim 20, wherein the multiple heat rejection units aredisposed radially about the elevated coolant tank, and are free-standingfrom the elevated coolant tank, each heat exchange assembly of themultiple heat rejection units comprising a vertically-oriented heatexchange assembly, and wherein the elevated coolant tank is elevatedabove the multiple heat exchange assemblies of the multiple heatrejection units.
 22. The data center of claim 15, wherein the coolingunit is coupled in fluid communication with a facility coolant loopcoupled to at least one coolant distribution unit of a data center, thedata center comprising a plurality of liquid-cooled electronics racksand a system coolant loop which facilitates rejecting heat from theplurality of liquid-cooled electronics racks to facility coolant in thefacility coolant loop via the at least one coolant distribution unit,and wherein the cooling unit is disposed external to the data center andrejects heat from the facility coolant passing through the facilitycoolant loop.
 23. The data center of claim 15, wherein the cooling unitis coupled in fluid communication with a condenser-side coolant loop ofa refrigeration chiller unit for rejecting heat from a condenser-sidecoolant of the refrigeration chiller unit to the air passing across theat least one heat rejection unit. 24-25. (canceled)